Casting choices

Rating: 9/10 (13 January 2008)

The photo of John Wayne wearing a helmet as a Major-General (two stars)on the main page, is NOT from The Longest Day but Cast a Giant Shadow. In Longest Day he was a Lieutenant Colonel from the 82nd. The best part is the casting of Richard Todd, a veteran of D-Day, and the piper with Lovatts commandos WAS Lord Lovatt's Piper Bill Millen. Casting actual participants adds to the realistic feel. I argued with my family about the Longest Day vs. Saving Private Ryan. Saving Private Ryan was a good movie, but it was a fictionalized account. Whereas, Longest Day had many of the actual participants in or providing technical advice. Ryan had better effects(big deal) but if you watch it, it's a cliché' ridden WWII movie just like Bataan or others. Compare the "central casting" characters with WWII era movies. The breadth of the battle was compacted in a couple of hours and was an excellent movie, one of the best. The characters came alive and were believable. It has stood the test of time.